Tell the Truth
by Lynse
Summary: Alya confronts Adrien, trying to convince him to confess his big secret–because what's the harm, especially when she's already figured it out? One-shot.


A/N: No season two spoilers, since I wrote this in August for ML fluff month and had it originally posted on my tumblr. The prompt was the same as the title: tell the truth. Standard disclaimers apply.

* * *

"Adrien, we're friends, right?"

Adrien smiled at Alya uncertainly, not entirely comfortable with the fact that she'd cornered him after class like this. Usually, she and Marinette would stay to chat with him and Nino, but Marinette had needed to rush home to the bakery today, and at a look from Alya, Nino had fled. Adrien hadn't been able to do more than pick up his bag before Alya had been _there_ , sitting on his desk and blocking the quick exit to the aisle.

He was _fairly_ confident that Nino wouldn't just abandon him without good reason, but still. Alya was being…odd. "Of course we're friends," he answered.

"So we can tell each other anything," Alya continued.

Adrien did tell Nino almost everything, and he had done so with Chloé when they'd been kids, so…. "Yes?" He hadn't meant it to come out as a question, but he still didn't know where she was going with this.

And he still felt like he'd gotten trapped somehow.

It was an unnerving feeling, especially with Alya.

The girl in question smiled at him and leaned closer. "Which means you don't need to hide with me."

"H-hide?"

"The truth."

Something twisted inside his stomach. "What truth?"

"You know which one," she said, which did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves. He knew she'd been looking into the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir, but she'd been doing that for _ages_. He hadn't realized she'd been this close. There hadn't been any hint of it on the Ladyblog.

He supposed he should be grateful for that, but in retrospect, it wasn't terribly surprising. Alya was tremendously curious, but that didn't mean she couldn't keep a secret once she'd uncovered it. He took a shaky breath and tried to relax, consciously unclenching his fingers. Plagg wouldn't be happy with this. That was probably the reason he was still hiding, assuming it wasn't just because he'd gorged himself on camembert again and was sleeping it off. Even if Alya had realized Chat Noir's secret identity, it didn't mean she knew anything about Plagg or the kwami's importance in the transformation.

Adrien wasn't sure how much he could tell her, though. He'd assumed keeping their identities a secret was to protect their friends and families from Hawk Moth or others like him and to a certain extent to protect himself if anyone close to him got akumatized again. What he didn't know was if Plagg would be in any sort of danger if he was discovered. Not from Alya, surely, but Plagg had seemed pretty adamant that Adrien couldn't tell anyone about him, and he wasn't firm on a lot of things that didn't involve cheese, so it must be for a good reason.

Still.

Even if Alya wasn't going to tell the world who he was—something she must have reconsidered, given how publically she had been searching for their identities and how Lady WiFi had been ready to unmask Ladybug so everyone could see her—that didn't mean the other problems with her knowing went away. He swallowed. "How…how long have you known?"

She smiled and straightened up. "Honestly, I wasn't absolutely certain until right now, but your reaction definitely clinches it."

He sighed. Of course. This was Alya. He should have known. "You can't tell anyone, please."

Alya arched an eyebrow. "I wasn't planning on telling _everyone_ , but you can bet I'm at least telling Marinette. She's going to be thrilled. And if you don't tell Nino, I will."

He didn't remember Marinette being particularly thrilled with Chat Noir; she had always seemed a little more exasperated than star struck, but he'd heard her express genuine concern about him before whenever Alya brought up a particularly nasty fight that he—for one reason or another—had ended up fighting single-handedly. Marinette treated Chat Noir less like a hero and more like a regular person, which he actually rather appreciated. It was weird, but it was almost like she was more comfortable with Chat Noir than she was with Adrien. But maybe that's because she hadn't gotten off on the wrong foot with Chat Noir.

And Nino….

He'd wanted to tell Nino for so long, but he had never truly considered it to be an option, not like it was with Ladybug. He was sure Nino would understand why he'd lied, but….

No.

He couldn't.

For Plagg's sake, if nothing else, he couldn't.

Which meant Alya couldn't tell anyone, either.

"Alya, please, no, you can't. You really can't."

"Of course I can. It's better if it's just out there, Adrien. Trust me on that much; there will be fewer headaches and things will go more smoothly all around. But if you want to be the one to tell them, be my guest."

"It's really not better," Adrien tried, but Alya was already shaking her head.

"Take it from me: it _is_. Stuff like this just gets messy if you try to keep it under wraps for too long, and you'll be missing out on tons of opportunities. It's far better to get it out now so that everyone can enjoy themselves." Alya's expression softened, and she added, "Believe me, this isn't going to end badly. It can't. I know the prospect is terrifying, but everything's going to be so much better once you confess."

He could understand why Alya believed that. Many things _would_ get better if his friends knew the truth. He wouldn't have to hurt Nino's feelings by inexplicably ditching him or only being able to offer up obviously false excuses. He wouldn't need to lie to them, and they could cover for him to buy him time when he needed it to get to class or maybe even be an alibi when Nathalie inevitably asked him where he'd been since he hadn't attended his lessons. Alya—if she so desired—could churn out just enough truth amidst false information to keep his identity safe from discovery and her safe from suspicion.

And he wouldn't need to keep hiding a part of himself, always trading one mask for another and never quite being himself.

But Plagg's list of rules hadn't exactly been long, and Adrien didn't think he could break them even if Alya had figured out the truth. He didn't know what had happened to the Chat Noirs of the past, but he didn't need to. He trusted Plagg. That's all that mattered.

Adrien wasn't sure when he'd dropped his gaze to his fingers, but he pulled his hands apart in an effort to stop fiddling and whispered, "You keep thinking I need to tell them, but I can't. And _you_ can't." He looked back at her then, pleading, "You don't know what would happen. It wouldn't be good."

Alya snorted. "I don't think I ever realized how much you worried about that. C'mon, Adrien. I know Marinette way better than you do. She'll be speechless from shock, not fury. Fury is the _last_ thing that girl feels towards you right now."

Adrien frowned. While he hadn't expected Marinette to be angry over the kept secret, he had expected her to be shocked, at least a little, and the way Alya was saying it…. It was like her reaction was the only one that mattered. "Wait, why—?" No, that was the wrong question. He swallowed and tried again. "What…what secret are you talking about?"

Alya's eyebrows shot up. "You have more than one secret worth talking about, then?"

Oops.

He shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Depends on what you call worthwhile, I guess."

Alya laughed. "Sure, sure. But what I'm talking about better be the one you're talking about, Adrien. C'mon, out with it. How long have you liked Marinette?"

 _What?_

"How…how long?" They'd had a bit of a rough start, sure, but he counted her as a friend and thought she counted him as one, too. "I don't…." What was the right answer to this question? "Marinette's really nice—"

"You don't need to pretend with me," Alya pointed out as she crossed her arms. "You know what I mean. When did you realize you liked her? How long have you been nursing that crush?"

 _Crush?_ He loved Ladybug, or whoever she was beneath her mask. But Marinette…. Okay. So Marinette _was_ really nice and sweet and cute, with a backbone that had her standing up for herself and her friends and a quick, clever mind that would rival Ladybug's. And she had a real talent for design and, as far as he could tell, baking. And he enjoyed spending time with her. And sometimes, he thought that maybe she really enjoyed the time she spent with him, too.

She wasn't Ladybug, but she was _here_ , and if it weren't for Ladybug….

Adrien sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know, Alya." When it came to Marinette, he wasn't really sure he knew anything. Especially when he wasn't ready to give up on Ladybug.

He felt a hand fall on his shoulder. "Cheer up. Like I said, this is all going to work out. I promise."

Alya had such confidence. It was almost a pity she didn't know his secret. She'd be a great ally if she did. And—

"But, hey, now that the big secret's out, wanna confess that other secret you've been hiding?"

Adrien blinked and looked at her. "Other secret?" he echoed.

She grinned, pulled out her phone, hit a few buttons, and showed him a picture.

It looked like a photograph from one of his modelling shoots, but she'd used a program to draw on his suit as Chat Noir, complete with mask, ears, tail, and bell.

Panic fluttered in his stomach, taking root more quickly than before because he'd already considered and dismissed the fact that she knew. She _couldn't_ know, could she? After all this time? She couldn't—

"You're practically the spitting image of Chat Noir."

She could.

"I mean, the mask doesn't exactly hide much, does it?" she added, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "And the ears and the suit don't do a much better job."

Adrien took a slow breath and let it out through his teeth. No, he was jumping to conclusions again. This wasn't an Alya who knew. That easy confidence was as much a mask as anything else. This was an Alya who was fishing for a confirmation she wasn't quite convinced she'd find.

"Come on. Just tell the truth. It's not that hard, and you'll feel better once you have."

But maybe he could work with that.

Adrien smiled as Alya's wheedling continued, and then he held up both hands in surrender and said in the most light-hearted tone he could muster, "All right, you got me. I'm Chat Noir."

A burst of laughter escaped Alya. "Okay, you could've at least tried being a _little_ more convincing."

"I'm Chat Noir," he repeated, this time weighing his tone with seriousness she'd take as mockery.

"Nino told you, didn't he?" she accused. "I knew I shouldn't have shown him the picture, but after I had Marinette swearing up and down that you _couldn't_ be Chat Noir, I was starting to doubt myself."

What had he done to convince Marinette he wasn't Chat Noir? If he could figure that out, maybe he'd be able to replicate the results with other people. But if not, this would hopefully deter a few people who had been thinking along the same lines as Alya. He didn't mind the idea of his identity as Chat Noir being a joke if the firm belief that it _was_ simply a joke protected people.

He grinned at his classmate. "What can I say? I'd make a pawsitively clawsome Chat Noir, wouldn't I?"

That earned him an eye roll. "Don't let Marinette hear you start making the same puns as him. It'll drive her nuts, and I'll lose my bet with Nino for sure. On a completely unrelated note," she added as he opened his mouth to ask what bet she was talking about, "you should know that you don't need to be a hero to catch Marinette's eye. And if you decide to let the cat out of the bag—" here she winked at him "—you know my number, so I'll be happy to tell you as much as you want to know. You just need to promise not to skimp on the details when you tell me what you're planning." She finally stood and offered her hand. "Deal?"

"Are you going to keep telling people I'm Chat Noir?"

She put her hands on her hips. "For your information, I didn't _tell_ them. I pointed out the possibility. You guys look alike." He shot her a skeptical look, so she relented and dropped her hands, saying, "Okay, so it's a thin case. Really, I have more evidence that Marinette's secretly Ladybug."

" _What_?"

"I know. Crazy, right? My best friend, one of the heroes I idolize. How ironic would _that_ be? But you don't need to worry, Adrien. I can read Marinette like a book. She's a rotten liar once you know her tells. I let her get away with it sometimes, just so I'm not too pushy, but you know." Alya tapped her temple. "I remember these things. If I ever get a more concrete case for either of you, you can bet we're going to have another conversation."

His laugh was a little more forced than before as his mind spun, considering the possibilities and comparing evidence _he_ might have that Alya did not. He knew Ladybug better than she did, after all, even if he still didn't know her identity. "Sure, Alya. Whatever you say."

Alya smirked and headed for the door, waving goodbye and she ducked out, presumably to catch up with Nino and tell him how their conversation had went. Adrien, however, stayed in his seat and opened his bag. Plagg _was_ sleeping next to an empty package of camembert, but Adrien knew him well. "Plagg," he started, not convinced the cat kwami was really asleep, "how much of that did you hear?"

Plagg yawned. "You need to learn the definition of a secret, kid."

"But…could Marinette really be Ladybug?"

Green eyes blinked up at Adrien. "What do you think?"

"But…but _Marinette_? She sits _behind me_. Ladybug would have a kwami too, right? So wouldn't you know?"

Plagg sat up and licked his lips. "Ladybug works with Tikki."

That wasn't an answer. Not to the question that mattered, anyway. "And?"

"And what?"

"And could Tikki be working with Marinette?"

"She'd have to be if Marinette's Ladybug."

"But _is_ Marinette Ladybug?"

"Why do you expect me to know?"

Plagg had a point. Adrien didn't even know why Alya thought Marinette might be Ladybug. "Well, will you at least help me find out?"

Plagg heaved a sigh. "Are you sure you want to know this time?"

Adrien took his time answering, but the truth was…. "Yes." It would be amazing if Ladybug were Marinette; purely from a selfish standpoint, he wouldn't need to feel so many conflicted emotions and his heart wouldn't race with nervousness at the mere possibility, but if they knew each other's identities, then there wouldn't need to be any secrets between them. They could be honest with each other, and that's what he really wanted. And even if it turned out Marinette wasn't Ladybug, well, maybe that would be a good thing, too. Ladybug might never respond to his flirtations, so if he could at least get to know Marinette better…. It would be a good thing.

Alya certainly seemed to think it would turn out well enough.

And she was obviously right about more than she realized if she'd pegged him as Chat Noir.

"Yes," Adrien repeated. "Please." Although…. "Just…without invading her privacy." He really wasn't sure he could trust Plagg when it came to basic things that one simply _did not do_. "And obviously without compromising you. And—"

Plagg held up a paw. "I know the drill. No peeking behind closed doors, even though it's really easy and the simplest way to find the girl of your dreams." Adrien opened his mouth, but Plagg added, "Don't worry. I don't need to find Ladybug; I just need to find Tikki. And if I don't, then you're pining after two different girls. You know, your life would be much simpler if you'd just learn to accept that cheese—"

"Plagg!"

"How much camembert do I get if this works out for you?"

Adrien laughed. Plagg could be coaxed into almost anything in exchange for camembert. "All you can eat," he promised. It might cost him all his spending money for the next ten years, but it would be worth it. Alya was right about one thing, after all. He would feel better once he told the truth. And if Marinette was Ladybug, well, he could. And that possibility was enough to make him smile.


End file.
